The Greatest Rivalry in Sports Returns to the Maryland Gridiron

Tomorrow, FedEx Field in Landover hosts the nation’s most enduring rivalry when the Navy Midshipmen take on the Black Knights of Army (game time is 2:30pm EST). Tomorrow’s game will mark the 112th meeting between the two teams. Navy leads the series, 55-49-7, and have won the past nine straight. When Army and Navy meet pomp and circumstance abound, and tomorrow’s game will be no different.

Earlier this week, Georgetown Cupcakes (a.k.a. DC Cupcakes of TLC fame) announced that they would be selling limited edition Army and Navy branded cupcakes in anticipation of the match-up. The bakery, which has a location in Bethesda, started selling the confections on Monday, with 50% of the proceeds going to USO-Metro. Whichever service academy has the most cupcakes sold by the end of the week will be declared the winner! The winner will be announced at the official Army-Navy gala tonight.

Army vs. Navy...cupcakes! So which one are you going to buy?

Also going on tonight, the Army and Navy bagpipe bands will battle for the “Pipe-Off Trophy” at Annapolis High School. Both schools will have a battle of the bands competition, with the winner taking home the coveted trophy. The event is open to the public and starts at 5pm.

In addition to the gala and the battle of the bands, there is also a pep rally scheduled for this evening. On game day, there are plenty of activities for all the fans in attendance including a fan fest and the always- anticipated “March On”, where the Brigade of Midshipmen and Corps of Cadets march into FedEx Field.

There are also some highly-anticipated VIPs scheduled to attend tomorrow’s rivalry game: President Obama and Vice President Biden. This will be President Obama’s first ever Army-Navy game. As per tradition, the president will cross the field at halftime to make sure he sits with both the Army and Navy officials and shows support for both sides. President Obama will be attending many military events this month and this game is a sort of kick-off for his military tour.

But the bands and fans aren’t the only ones gearing up for the big game; both teams will be debuting new uniforms for the match-up. Army and Navy players will be wearing the Nike Pro Combat uniforms, which Nike designed specifically for this game. For a sneak peek of both Army and Navy’s uniforms, check out these videos:

Tomorrow’s game will mark the eighth time this rivalry has been played in the state of Maryland, and the first time that FedEx Field has hosted the rivalry. Traditionally, the game is held in Philadelphia, but recently the schools have decided to take the game to other cities around the country every couple of years. The last time both teams met in a Maryland stadium was in 2007 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The game returns to M&T Bank Stadium in 2014 and 2016.

And to showcase just how special this storied rivalry is, here’s a sneak peek at the Showtime documentary chronicling both football programs. The documentary is meant to show just how different these two football programs are from other programs in Division I sports. The documentary premieres on December 21.